Event Horizon
by AR14
Summary: Lee Everett thought he'd seen it all. He was wrong. In this new world the rules have changed. The dead now walk the Earth and the living have to fight each other to survive. Yet even as his group tries to stay alive, divisions threaten to tear them apart. He wonders if there's anything to stop them from crossing the point of no return.


_**Event Horizon**_

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**Breaking Point**

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Lee Everett stared out the back window of the RV, scanning the road. He wanted to be sure that the bandits who attacked them didn't give chase. He saw nothing, but that still didn't put his mind at ease. They had to leave everything back at the motor inn, and that fact gnawed at him. Even the supplies they had acquired from the pharmacy had to be left behind. He risked his life and nearly died several times getting all that medicine and in the end, it really didn't matter. The bandits would have it by now.

_Bastards are probably looting the whole damn place by now._

Everything went to hell after he found the bag of medicine hidden outside the camp wall earlier that day. Lilly had been afraid that there was a traitor stealing supplies and now it was confirmed. They had been giving them to the bandits. The only real problem was that he didn't know who it was.

Lee sighed, "Shit. This is a mess."

"I'm fine, I'm fine!"

Lee turned his head towards the head of the vehicle. It was Katjaa reassuring her husband. His mouth formed a small, empty smile. Despite everything they had been through, Kenny always put the safety of his wife and son above his own. It was an endearing trait and it reminded Lee of himself and his own wife. Of course, that was a lifetime ago. A life he had before he was convicted and before he watched the world come crashing down. He shook his head and let out a breath, not liking where his thoughts were leading him. Instead, he decided to head back up and rejoin the others.

As Lee stood, he gave a small smile to Clementine, who sat next to him, and walked back up to stand next to the counter. He rested his hand on its surface for support and observed the other three people in front of him.

Carley was sitting on the small vinyl couch next to Ben. She offered Lee a small smile before returning her worried gaze to the boy sitting next to her. He sat with his head down, using his hands to cover his face. He was clearly shaken by the ordeal. Lee couldn't help but feel a small amount of pity for him. Lilly, however, was standing over the boy, regarding both him and Carley with a stern gaze.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit..." Ben repeated frantically. Lee didn't like this. Tension was in the air and he knew something was going to snap. How everything turned out...he wasn't sure he wanted to know. Suddenly, Ben sat up straight and stared at Lilly, wide-eyed.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"Everything's fine, Ben." Carley said, finally speaking up.

"Everything's not fine." Lilly interrupted, her voice filled with venom. "We need to figure out how this happened. We lost everything."

"Well we're lucky as shit to have this RV!" Kenny spoke up from the driver's seat.

"And nobody died." Carley agreed.

"Kat's bleedin' all over herself!"

"I'm fine, Ken. Don't worry about me!" Katjaa argued.

Lee took this moment to step in. "Carley's right Kenny. Let's just be happy we're all still here."

Lee looked over at Lilly. Her gaze was fixed at Carley, who didn't seem to notice. He didn't like where this was going.

"Somebody here cause all this." Said Lilly. "And we need to know who."

"Settle down back there!" Kenny said, regarding Lilly through the rear-view mirror. "Those bandits have had our number for weeks. It was only a matter of time!"

Lilly shook her head. "No, this is different. Somebody was working with them, handing over our meds. They didn't get their last package so they attacked."

"That's nuts! Calm down, Lilly!" Kenny exclaimed.

"Lee found a bag of supplies hidden outside our wall." Lilly said, turning her head to face him.

Lee, who had been observing, now suddenly felt very uncomfortable. Everyone's eyes were on him and he knew he had to back Lilly up. He only hoped that it wouldn't cause more harm than good.

"It's true." He said, his voice a low mumble.

"So, Carley," Lilly said, her eyes bearing down on the young woman, "Is there something you want to say?"

Suddenly, Lee became very alert. Lilly was going to start pointing fingers? That wasn't her. He had a feeling she was starting to crack, just like he warned her.

"Please. " Carley retorted.

"So we have to get it out of you, then?"

"Back off."

"You're in no position to make demands." Lilly said, slightly amused.

"Woah woah, you're just pointing fingers!" Carley said holding up her hands.

"You think I just came up with this, don't you? No, I've had my suspicions."

Up front, Lee heard Kenny sigh in annoyance.

"This probably ain't the time, Lilly!" He said.

"If not now, then when?"

Lee was starting to get angry now. Besides the whole ridiculousness of this situation, Carley was his friend and he wasn't going to let her be bullied around.

"Settle down, Lilly. I trust Carley, and you should too."

"Don't you get it, Lee? She's always SO eager to see the supplies we found. She never even talks about her family. She could be related to those bastards for all we know!"

"That's too far!" Lee exclaimed. He looked over at Carley. The shock on her face quickly evaporated and was replaced with pure rage.

"My family's not a bunch of meth-riddled forest people. They're fucking Lutheran!"

"You're not saying it wasn't you." Lilly said quietly, staring Carley down.

"It wasn't me."

Lee had had enough. This conversation wasn't going anywhere and if he didn't stop it, then it could get a whole lot worse.

"Lilly, you need to back the fuck off."

"No, YOU back off! I'm trying to preserve the integrity of our group!"

"You're starting a fucking witch hunt!" Lee shot back. "Just let it go."

"I can't! Who knows what will happen if we let this go?"

Lee sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Look, we know something's going and we can get to the bottom of this if we keep our heads."

"I know what we found, Lee!"

"I know, Lilly. But this isn't the way to go about this." Lee said, nodding his head slowly.

"Nobody stole anything!" Ben exclaimed, finally speaking up.

"It was both of you, wasn't it?"

"What? No-"

"I've seen you two together." Lilly interrupted. "Was it both of you?"

By now Ben was pressed against the back of the couch. He was sweating and clearly afraid of the angry woman towering over him.

"I-I don't like where this is going." He stammered. "Please, just let me out. I don't wanna be involved in this."

Lilly leaned over, stopping her face inches from the young man's.

"Look me in the eye and tell me you didn't have anything to do with it."

"Leave him alone, Lilly." Carley snapped.

"I...I-" Ben stammered.

Suddenly, There was a loud crash and the whole RV shook. Lee had to reach over with his free hand and take hold of the counter to avoid falling to the floor.

_Damnit, what's wrong now?_

"Shit! I hit somethin'" Kenny exclaimed from the driver's seat. "We gotta stop."

"All right," Lilly said sadistically, "Well, we can deal with this now, then."

The group shared an uncomfortable silence as the RV rolled to a stop. Lee looked over at Carley, who stared back with a grim expression on her face. He broke eye contact and stared down at his feet. This was bad. Lee didn't know what would happen in the next few minutes and that scared him to death. Lilly had gone completely off the deep end. She was angry, paranoid, and good with a gun. He didn't know what she was capable of in this state and that scared the hell out of him.

What Lee did know, however, that if Lilly tried anything, he would do everything in his power to protect those he cared about.

"Everyone out."

Lilly's voice shook Lee from his thoughts. Already the group was filing out and he held his ground as the angry woman stopped in front of him. He fixed her with a stern gaze.

"Now." She said.

Lee simply shook his head and exited the RV in front of her. He heard the front door slam shut and guessed that Kenny was already looking into whatever it was they ran over.

As Lilly exited the vehicle, the small group of four formed a small circle. She bent down to inspect the underside of the vehicle. Lee took the opportunity to steal a glance at Carley. She was already looking at him. Their eyes met for a small moment before she looked over her shoulder towards Lilly.

"This is some crazy shit we got ourselves into." Lee said quietly, hoping to ease some tension.

Carly turned back to Lee and gave him an angry glare. However, he noticed a small twinkle in her eyes, one that he recognized.

"We?" She asked. "I don't see her riding YOUR ass."

At that moment, Lilly stood up, causing them to cease further conversation.

"Kenny we got a walker trapped underneath."

"God damnit!" Kenny exclaimed, moving to inspect their new visitor. "Everyone keep your eyes peeled."

Clementine appeared in the doorway as Lilly took her place to Lee's left with Carley and Ben to the right. Lee nodded to the girl and she hesitantly returned the gesture.

"You know what? We shouldn't just kick you out." Lilly said, gesturing to Ben and Carley. "We should hear what everybody thinks."

"I think you should chill out!" Ben burst out.

"I'm not gonna take this." Carley asserted. "You can push Ben around, but you can't push ME around!"

"I'm sorry you feel that way. I'm starting to think it was both of you."

"God damn walker!" Kenny yelled from his place at the front of the RV. From Lee's point of view it seemed as though he was trying to reach under and pull it out.

"You okay, Ken?" He asked.

"Yeah, yeah. Son of a..."

Turning his attention back to the argument, he became astounded at where it was leading.

"Tell me it was Carley and everything will be right as rain." Lilly uttered.

"What is this?" Lee asked, glaring angrily at Lilly. "You can't just tell someone to do that!"

"You can't back out now, Lee; you're the one who found them."

"Fuck that. We're standing on the side of the road!"

Lilly gave an exasperated sigh.

"Fine then." She said, gesturing towards Kenny. "What do you think, Kenny?"

"I don't know, Fuck! Just stop it."

"Well your vote counts for you AND Katjaa." She called out.

Ben suddenly burst out in a fit of panic.

"We don't _need_ all these VOTES. What do I have to do for you to TRUST me? I'll do ANYTHING! I'll...I'll do watches for months, I'll get more food, more medicine, anything! Just let me stay!"

"Shut up Ben!" Lee scolded. "You're just making things worse."

"Do we need more evidence than this?" Lilly thrust her hand accusingly at Ben.

"To HELL with evidence!" Carley roared. "Stop treating him like this!"

"Shut the fuck up, Carley!" Lilly answered. "Kenny, what's it gonna be?"

"Just gimme a damn minute!"

"Fine." She said before turning once again to Ben. Lee saw the boy swallow and noticed his legs shake a bit. "You have until that Walker is dealt with to tell me it was her and NOT you..."

"Who gave you the right to play God?" Carly asked, pointing at Lilly.

Lee folded his arms. "I was just thinking the same thing."

However, neither Lilly nor Ben heard him. The boy simply stared at her in terror.

"NO!"

"Ben!" Lilly growled.

"Stop!" Carley demanded.

Lilly looked over at the young woman with hate in her eyes.

"This is about trust and I've NEVER trusted you!"

_This is getting out of hand, fast._

Things were coming to a head and Lee knew if he didn't do something fast, it would probably come to blows, possibly even worse. And he wasn't about to let that happen. So he did the only thing he could do.

"I did it."

"What?" Lilly asked flatly, turning her head to face him.

"Yeah, it was me. You happy?"

_Please, God, let that work._

But Lilly simply shook her head.

"I don't believe you. You can be a real piece of shit sometimes, but I know it wasn't you. Not with her." She said, looking at Clementine, still standing in the doorway of the RV.

A sickening sound came from the front of the RV. Lee looked and saw Kenny dragging the unfortunate walker out from under the vehicle.

"There, I got it!" Kenny called out. He drug it a few feet to the side of the road, preparing to smash its skull in.

"Please," Ben said. "Let's just get back in the RV..."

"That's not happening." Lilly said coldly.

By now, Carley was visibly angry. One hand was curled into a fist and her body was shaking. Lee could see her clench and unclench her jaw.

"You think you're some tough bitch, don't you?" She spat, the rage clearly evident in her voice. "Like nothing can hurt you. But you're just a scared little girl."

Lilly's face became angrier and angrier every second Carly spoke. It seemed even her presence was enough to ignite the fires of hatred within her heart.

"Get the fuck over it." Carley continued, folding her arms. "Why don't you take a page from Lee's book and try helping somebody for once?"

A sickening crunch suddenly resounded from behind the heated debate. Everyone turned to see Kenny pick his foot off the walker's head. He nodded at the group and proceeded to clean his boot on the grass.

Suddenly, Lee noticed the slightest movement from the very corner of his vision. As he turned his head he heard the softest rustling. A glint of steel flashed in the moonlight. He turned his head fully around stopped dead.

Lilly was pointing a gun at the back of Carley's head.

In an instant, Lee's hand shot forward. He grasped Lilly's gun hand with his left and raised it high into the air. In the quick motion, the gun went off, sending the round far into the distance and deafening Lee's ears. Lee didn't even notice everyone jump around as he let his instincts take over. In one swift motion, he violently jerked Lilly's wrist, forcing her to drop the gun, and sent his right fist barreling into her unprotected stomach. As the air left her lungs with a gasp, Lee forced her back and pinned her against the side of the RV with a loud crash. He stared her down, their faces inches apart.

Nobody spoke for a long moment. The only sounds to be heard were the low rustling of the night wind and Lee's heavy breathing.

"What the fuck just happened?" Kenny demanded, breaking the silence and rushing to join the group that had formed around Lee and Lilly.

Lee never even blinked.

"That's a good question." He growled. "Lilly, is there something you want to say?"

"You can't trust her, Lee." She begged. "I swear, please..." Lilly's eyes pleaded with him, though he would have none of it. In the back of his mind, Lee knew Lilly would snap. Anyone who went through what she had was bound to. He was just glad the he was able to stop her.

"So you're solution is to fucking kill her?" He screamed. Whatever her damage, this was inexcusable. There was no way anyone would ever feel safe around her again, assuming they ever did before.

"What?" Carley asked, coming to stand next to Lee. Kenny took up position on the opposite side.

"This crazy bitch tried to kill you, Carley." Kenny answered, having pieced it together.

"So...what do we do with her?" Ben asked while still trying to keep his distance from the scene.

Kenny answered for Lee, "We leave her, that's what."

Lee stared at Lilly for a few moments. He knew he wasn't one to leave someone to their death; the decision to let the woman in Macon be devoured by walkers to buy them time still made him sick. However, this woman in front of him was unstable and now evidently prone to violence. But he couldn't do it.

Reluctantly, Lee let his hands drop slowly. He still glared at Lilly, daring her to try anything.

"Just get in. We'll figure out what to do with you."

"That's a bad idea, Lee." Kenny interjected. "She tried to murder one of us for shit's sake."

"Murder? Lee's a convicted killer and he's been with you this whole time!" Lilly exclaimed.

"I don't give a damn about what he did before!" Kenny retorted. "If we keep you with us, how long until you try this again, with someone else?"

"I wanted to protect all of us." Lilly pleaded.

"Bullshit." Carley muttered under her breath.

"Whatever, just get in." Kenny finished before turning and walking around the front of the RV to get in on the driver's side.

Lee offered one last glance at Carley before turning and motioning Lilly to enter in front of him. As he walked up the stairs, he directed their new prisoner to sit at the table in the back. Carley approached him with a length of rope which he took gratefully.

After securing Lilly's hands behind her back, Lee reached for the pistol she dropped, now secured in his belt. He removed it and slid it across the table to where Ben sat. Giving him a sheepish look, the boy tentatively grasped the weapon and trained it at the woman across from him. He looked to Lee who simply nodded and walked away.

"Lee, can I see you for a moment?"

Lee's attention was directed towards the front of the RV where Katjaa and Duck were. He silently made his way past Carley and Clem and entered the cab.

Katjaa sat in the passenger seat cradling Duck in her arms.

"What's up?" He asked.

Both Katjaa and Kenny shared an uneasy glance at each other, something they normally didn't do. Lee then noticed that Duck hadn't moved the whole time. He knew it involved the child but he had to ask.

"Is...Duck feeling alright?"

Kat moved her hand down to the hem of her son's shirt and raised it for Lee to see. Lee gasped in horror as he noticed the purple bruise in the side of his torso surrounding a neat bite mark.

"What the fuck..." Lee breathed.

"Happened during the raid." Kenny whispered.

_Shit this ain't good._

"What do we do? We've never had a bite victim before."

Kat was the first to answer.

"I'm going to keep an eye on him, from a medical perspective."

"And unless something changes, we keep the same plan. East." Kenny said. "We just thought you should know."

"If you could tell Clementine, we would be grateful." His wife asked.

Nodding, Lee quietly slipped back to the couch where the girls. The two sat on opposite side of each other and, seeing no other alternative, sat in the space between them. It was a little cramped, to say the least, but he felt comfortable next to what he considered his two closest friends. He wrapped his arm around Clementine who snuggled next to him.

"So what's the deal?" Carley asked. She turned to face him. Clementine, too, had a look of grim curiosity plastered to her face.

_What do I say? Do I be honest?_

Lee sighed. He had to be.

"Duck is bitten."

"Huh?" Clementine said, looking up at him.

"Damnit. When did it happen?"

"During the raid." Lee answered quietly.

"I don't feel good." Clementine whispered. "What about Lilly?"

That was a good question. What about her? They were going to have to figure something out; it's not like they could let her stay. That was a disaster waiting to happen. The only thing that really mattered to Lee was that he stopped her from killing Carley. He didn't know what he would have done had Lilly succeeded.

"I don't know, Clem." He looked over at Carley who was watching him. She smiled slightly and reached her hand over to rest on his shoulder. It was warm, even through the fabric of his shirt.

"Thanks, by the way."

"It's nothing."

Lee frowned as she let out a soft laugh.

"You saved my life." Her smile faded, leaving only the ends of her lips curled up into a shadow of its former brilliance. "I'd say that's something."

Lee smiled back as Carley removed her hand from his shoulder. He leaned his head back and rested it on the back of the couch, closing his eyes for a moment. He knew he should be thinking about what to do with Lilly and what do do with Duck. Hell, even Carley seemed to be in the forefront of his thoughts lately. She acted different around him now, somewhat. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but he'd be lying if he said he didn't like it.

Yet, even with everything on his plate right now, the one thing he really wanted was to enjoy a nice peaceful sleep. Everything else could wait for the moment, even Carley.

_I'll deal with this shit tomorrow._

And that was the last thought that passed through Lee Everett's mind that night. As he drifted off into a blissful sleep, he didn't even stop to think of how bad a day this was, and how it could have been so much worse. But that was a thought for another day. Right now, in the wake of everything that happened, a little rest would be well deserved.

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**A/N**

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So, whad'ya think? Love it? Hate it? Let me know. That's what reviews are there for, right?

Anyways, after playing episode 3 of The Walking Dead(and enjoying every minute of it), I started to wonder what would've happened if Lee had been able to stop Lilly from killing Carley. A passing thought soon turned into inspiration and well...this happened. If you can tell, I took a lot of dialogue from in-game because I really didn't think rewriting the whole argument was a good idea.

So, besides the whole "Theft of Intellectual Property" thing, I believe this went quite well. I'll probably keep updating this just because I want to explore different character relationships more in-depth. I might even write a prequel to this, describing the events that lead up to where we're at. Obviously, I'm not going to make this a carbon-copy of the game(I'll add extra scenes and dialogue), but I am going to follow the game's basic plot.

So, all rambling aside, thanks for taking the time to join me and I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Until next time


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